Ironvine Territory (V)

Back when the Grand Duchy of Vera gained independence from the East Sea Alliance, the two sides fought for this land, and the number of soldiers who died was far more than three legions. Now, the East Sea Alliance has suddenly sent envoys, wanting to exchange this land for such simple conditions. In Baron Brown's view, this is not very realistic.

Therefore, although Baron Brown believed the intelligence was true, he did not think it would have any subsequent impact, because the Duchy was unlikely to agree to the East Sea Alliance's demands.

But Victor had a different opinion, and he answered Baron Brown's question.

"Why not? You know that the Raine Kingdom has been behind this uprising in Count Colt."

"If the Raine Kingdom, which is just across the sea from us, has the ability to intervene, then why shouldn't the East Sea Alliance, which is our neighbor, get involved?"

Victor countered with a question to Baron Brown, Baron Brown was speechless, knowing that Victor's viewpoint was very reasonable.

"But Lord Victor, the East Sea Alliance is demanding the cession of territory. Will the Grand Duke Mora agree to that?"

Even if he agreed, there's still a bunch of old fogies in the Silver Maple Ducal House. The Silver Maple Family has a blood feud with the ruling families of the East Sea Alliance; the two sides have been fighting for the independence of the Grand Duchy for nearly two hundred years."

Baron Brown believed that even if Grand Duke Mora might agree, the Silver Maple Ducal House was not a matter for him to decide alone, and the other members of the Silver Maple Ducal House would certainly not agree.

"That's based on the premise that they won't fail. If the Silver Maple Ducal House finds out that they'll lose the entire Grand Duchy if they disagree, do you think they'll still be so steadfast in their opposition?"

"This..."

Both fell silent. Baron Brown was confident that his side would achieve final victory. The Northern Alliance Army had already gained a significant advantage, having taken the Eastern Region. If Victor's mission went smoothly, they could also secure a considerable victory in the Southern Region. Then, they could turn their attention to the central army of the Duchy of Vera, and the entire Grand Duchy of Vera would be transformed.

But this also means that Victor's prophecy has come true. Now that things have come to this point, even the most stubborn members of the Silver Maple Ducal House will support the East Sea Alliance.

Baron Brown finally sighed, "Then what should we do?"

The East Sea Alliance's directly subordinate legions, while not strong, are not comparable to any noble private armies. Even our entire 50,000-strong Southern Marching Legion could barely handle three legions, but the duchy also has a directly subordinate legion in the Southern Region, along with at least three private legions from the southern nobles.

Victor and Baron Brown both fell silent, realizing that in terms of sheer numbers, they had no chance of winning.

Victor recalled what he knew: the Grand Duchy of Vera had split off from the East Sea Alliance. The military systems of the two countries were basically the same. The East Sea Alliance's direct legions were, to put it bluntly, the private armies of a few ruling families. However, thanks to the East Sea Alliance's developed trade industry, these troops were well-equipped and well-trained. Their only weakness compared to the Grand Duchy Army was the lack of warhorses.

However, Victor quickly realized that the East Sea Alliance shouldn't be so short of warhorses now. The Grand Duchy of Vera didn't reject trade with the East Sea Alliance, but it restricted warhorse trading, which resulted in the East Sea Alliance being very short of warhorses.

The Iron Birch Family's biggest source of income was overseas trade, selling warhorses from the Northlands. A significant portion of these warhorses were sold to the East Sea Alliance. He had learned from Alex that over the years, the Iron Birch Territory's overseas caravans had sold at least 20,000 warhorses of various types to the East Sea Alliance. It was thanks to this income that the Iron Birch Family and the Northern Frontier Allied Army were able to arm such a large force.

Victor couldn't help but smile wryly. Could this be considered the Count Colt Northern Frontier Allied Army shooting themselves in the foot?

However, Victor looked at Baron Brown and saw that Baron Brown's face was no longer as composed as before, but looked just as worried as Victor's. Victor couldn't help but laugh.

Baron Brown looked at Victor with some confusion. After a moment, Victor explained, "Your expression just now was rather amusing; it wasn't like your usual carefree self at all."

The Baron Brown that Victor first met was a very carefree nobleman. Because of his family lineage, he had a generous personality, was willing to make friends, and was very popular in the circles of Northern Frontier nobles.

Upon hearing Victor's words, Baron Brown burst into laughter, taking a while to recover.

"It's all your fault, Victor. If you hadn't been so full of guesses and speculations, I wouldn't be so worried."

Victor patted Baron Brown on the shoulder. "Consider defeat before victory; that's the foundation of a great general. Besides, we might not lose. What I'm doing now is all for the sake of victory."

After saying this, Victor left the bow of the ship and went down into the cabin. Baron Brown quickly followed him, wanting to ask Victor how to achieve victory.